Lightning

Rating:
Summary: Still useful, even though out-of-date
Review: First published in 1969 and thus out of date due to the extensive research in lightning since then, this book can nevertheless serve as an introduction to the knowledge that was known at the time of publication. My interest in the book stemmed from a sideline interest in ball lightning, a phenomenon which I have never observed, but the accounts of it have some peculiarities from a physics standpoint that are very interesting. Unfortunately, the author only discusses ball lightning in one of the Appendices, and the discussion is very short. The author does discuss in this context the St. Elmo's fire phenomenon.

Even though the book is out of date, it could still serve as a source for homework problems for an instructor teaching a course in electromagnetic theory, whether in physics or engineering. In addition, the author has more recent books on lightning that could be consulted in addition to this one. Lightning is a great example of an electromagnetic phenomenon that everyone is familiar with, and that has lots of interesting physics, some of the understanding of which is still a hot topic of research. For someone like me who is just just curious about the physics of lightning, this book and other ones by the author are of great help, and motivate further reading on the subject.